Remanufacturing a shotshell?

[JK-47]

Can a crimped shell be uncrimped to reconfigure the contents of said shell? I can get 2 3/4" birdshot shells for about .25 cents each, would it be possible then to remove the birdshot, recast as buck or slugs and reload the primed hull? how about the powder, wad and shot cup, can any of those be reused?

[hoosierlogger]

No, once a shotshell is formed to take a crimp it cannot be changed to a roll crimp by the average reloader. I am sure it is possible, but its not something I would suggest trying. as for the powde,r a slug will use a different style wad and a different powder charge. Dont even try it. Welcome to the forum BTW.

[klcarroll]

As a general rule, you can replace the shot with a slug of the same weight, and not get into trouble: ......JUST AS LONG AS THE SLUG WILL PASS ANY CHOKE THAT IS PRESENT WITHOUT UNDUE RESISTANCE!!! (Look at the TOTAL diameter of the slug and shotcup once the slug is seated inside.)

The only other issue would be the re-crimping operation. A good tight crimp is an important issue when you are trying to keep the initial combustion uniform and efficient. If the slug rattles around loosely, you may see velocity variations due to LOW pressure problems!

It has been my experience that it is generally safe to replace shot with an equal weight of buck. Just remember that your pattern will suffer badly if the pellets don't "nest" properly in the shotcup. (Meaning that you may have to go to 0Buck instead of 00 to get the pellets to nest in nice layers of three.) The above comments about re-crimping apply here too!

Kent

[hoosierlogger]

AAH yes I didnt see he asked about buck shot also , all I saw was slug. If you go with buck shot, use a powdered buffer of some sort to fill in the gaps between the buck balls, it will help it patern better.

[klcarroll]

@ Hoosierlogger;

I apply roll crimps to previously fold-crimped hulls all the time! Some aren't quite as pretty as virgin factory loads; ....But they are completely functional.

....But JK-47 doesn't really need to worry about that: ....There are a number of slug designs that are intended to be used inside of standard shotcups, with fold crimps. (You just have to pay attention to the tightness of the choke you plan to shoot them through.)

Kent

[Red River Rick]

If you go with buck shot, use a powdered buffer of some sort to fill in the gaps between the buck balls, it will help it patern better.

I agree with the patterning effect. Buffered "BB's" on geese at 60 - 70 yards work wonders, real tight pattern. Actually, #4 Buck shot (27 pellets) works best.

However; adding any buffering material to the shot charge will increase presssures, dramatically, and should only be done so with approved loading data only. Mixing your own concoction probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to attempt.

FWIW.

RRR

[Storydude]

I agree with the patterning effect. Buffered "BB's" on geese at 60 - 70 yards work wonders, real tight pattern. Actually, #4 Buck shot (27 pellets) works best.

However; adding any buffering material to the shot charge will increase presssures, dramatically, and should only be done so with approved loading data only. Mixing your own concoction probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to attempt.

FWIW.

RRR

X2. Buffers, shot and the wrong powder charge/wad style can cause barrels to become pregnant and lead to rusting of the forehead.

[briang]

I did try to replace the shot in some federal value pack with a lee 1oz slug. i found it nearly impossible to open the crimp fully without destroying it. However cutting the crimp off and shooting without a crimp worked fairly well, but left lots of unburned powder from the low pressure.

[Adam604]

I've reworked over 200 12ga shells and had good results:

In this post:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=33751

I wrote about my results with reworking 100 packs of Federal shells to shoot 7/8 oz Lee slugs.

They performed pretty good for practice rounds at ranges up to 50 yards.

After a box or 2 you can get pretty good at opening up the crimp with out messing it up and I got to the point of being able to do a rework a box of 25 in about a 30 minutes. If you work the crimp mostly closed by hand it will close up nice with just a firm push with a proper sized socket

adam604